1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a printer, an image printing system to which the printer is applied, and a method for printing a confidential document.
2. Description of the Related Art
An image printing system includes a computer and a printer connected to the computer by a communication interface.
The printer converts received print data into image data suitable for an engine and prints an image corresponding to the converted image data to supplied paper.
Recently, in order to increase the utilization efficiency of the printer, the printer is mainly used in a state of being connected to a plurality of user computers through a network as a communication interface. In a conventional printer, a print job order with respect to the received print data is determined by a first-in first-out method and the print jobs are performed according to the determined order. Therefore, a user sends the print data using the user computer, goes to a place where the printer is installed, waits for a previously received stand-by work to be completed, and takes the printed output of the user. When a printer is shared by many people, there are many chances of having a look at the printed outputs of others while the user waits for the printed output of the user to be output from the printer. Also, the user may take some or all printed outputs of others by mistake.
Considering the above situation, when a confidential document is printed using the printer shared by many people, it is difficult to maintain security with respect to the confidential document.